Studies at the University of Florida have shown that the cornea endothelium may be seriously damaged during acrylic intraocular lens (IOL) insertion following cataract surgery. This was demonstrated to be due to a contact adhesion (sticking) phenomenon between tissue and acrylic surfaces and poses a potentially serious complication in surgery. Application of a hydrophilic polymer coating has been demonstrated to eliminate such contact adhesion tissue damage. This project is focused upon the preparation and properties of hydrophilic polymer coatings on acrylic IOLs and their characterization and evaluation. Soluble cast films and permanent gamma-irradiation and RF plasma graftcoatings based upon polyvinylpyrrolidone have been prepaired and characterized and exhibit favorable non-damaging properties in tissue contact experiments. A cat animal model, cornea stroma tissue culture and in vivo rabbit cornea implant methods have been developed for evaluating coating IOLs. Research in progress is primarily devoted to (1) permanent hydrophilic coating methods and materials, (2) mechanistic studies involving cornea endothelium-acrylic adhesion force measurements and (3) in vitro and in vivo evaluations of hydrophilic polymer coatings on IOLs. Results to date suggest that hydrophilic coatings may afford a significant improvement in the safe use of IOL implants.